We invite activists in need to visit some of the most informative and reputable sites specializing in the Movements' Focus Areas. While these links do not address all struggles faced by activists, they are reliable resources that display best practices perfected by some of the world's most reputable human rights organizations. These organizations have created innovative responses to human rights violations that activists can draw from to better their own lives.

Arbitrary Arrest/Detention

Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who take injustice personally. We are campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) is the press association established in 2009 by Iranian human rights advocates in order to report and disseminate daily news of human rights violations in Iran. The English section of HRANA includes translated news of events initially prepared in Farsi and distributed by human rights reporters throughout Iran. Human Rights Activists in Iran is a non-profit, independent organization established in March of 2005 by a group of Iranian human rights advocates. HRANA operates under the charter of this organization in the Statistics and Publications Unit.

Internet Legislation Atlas (ILA)
The Internet Legislation Atlas (ILA) is an interactive online resource that compiles existing laws and regulations related to digital rights, beginning with seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. ASL19 developed and implemented a mobile-friendly website that facilitates engagement with research and analysis compiled by Hivos’ IGMENA, Article 19 and other contributors.

Children's Rights

Children’s Rights

Every child has the right to a fair chance in life. But around the world, millions of children are trapped in an intergenerational cycle of disadvantage that endangers their futures – and the future of their societies.

Today, more than a quarter of the world’s slaves are children. These children are forced to commit commercial sex acts, forced into a system of domestic servitude or employed in occupations that are mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful.

Some religious leaders have acted as powerful agents of change for progress on child marriage across the world. Others have been an obstacle to efforts to end the practice. Based on research by Stellenbosch University and insights from twenty Girls Not Brides members and partners, this brief summarises what we know about working with religious leaders to address child marriage, and introduce some resources and tools to support more effective work in this area.

Child, early and forced marriage legislation in 37 asia-pacific countries
This report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to assist parliamentarians in their efforts to address child marriage in the Asia-Pacific region.
It provides an overview of how the laws address the issue of child marriage in the region, highlighting existing contradictions between different legislative tools in each country.
The report argues that law enforcement is part of the response, and that ending child marriage in the region will require a comprehensive approach.

Environmental Issues

Climate change is an acute threat to global development
The World Bank Group (WBG) is more committed than ever to helping countries meet the climate challenge. We are actively working with countries to help them deliver on and exceed their Paris ambitions, including through financing, technical assistance, and knowledge sharing.
For additional information, please click here.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 9 out of 10 people breathe in high levels of pollutants resulting in the deaths of 7 million people each year. These diseases include cancer, heart disease, lung disease and strokes. The regions with the highest rates of air pollution are commonly found in Asia and Africa; however, cities in America, Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean also have levels that WHO finds unhealthy.

Iran’s Water Problem
Water scarcity in Iran threatens not just its agricultural self-sufficiency but may also strain its energy exports in the long term, two sectors it hopes to rely on to weather new economic sanctions.

Rights of Ethnic Minorities

The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination provides protection for persons with disabilities against discrimination based on their race. Racial discrimination is defined in the Convention as "any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, which has the purpose of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other filed of public life".
For additional information on UNHCHR.

Why are minority rights important?

Minorities are all national cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities whose minority status has been recognised by national legislation or by internationally binding declarations as well as minorities that define and organise themselves as such.

Common struggles of ethnic minorities:
Many states are home to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities whose fundamental freedoms and human rights are abused. People from minority groups tend to be poorer and to have less power, less influence and less access to remedies to tackle their problems than those from the majority population.

Minority Rights Group International
Minority Rights Group International campaigns worldwide with around 130 partners in over 60 countries to ensure that disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples, often the poorest of the poor, can make their voices heard.

Freedom House
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world.

Freedom House provides analysis of the challenges to freedom, advocates for greater political rights and civil liberties, and supports frontline activists to defend human rights and promote democratic change.

ASL19
ASL19, Farsi for Article 19, is a technology group working towards practical responses for online access to information challenges. Our work helps citizens assert their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and access to information. (In Persian and English).

Labor and Poverty

World Bank’s latest evidence and analysis of policies to help the poorest in every country:
There is no silver bullet to ending poverty, and strategies to reach the least well-off must be tailored to each country’s context, taking into account the latest data and analysis and the needs of the people. The fact that there has been such progress in the world, however, tells us that a few things are working. Experience shows that to sustainably reduce poverty, countries need to:>

Grow in an inclusive, labor-intensive way.

Invest in the human capital of people, especially those who are unable to benefit from basic services due to circumstances beyond their control.

Insure poor and vulnerable people against the shocks that can push them deeper into poverty—things such as severe weather, pandemics, food price variability, and economic crises.

Iran Kargar
This Persian-language site provides general information about the status of labor in Iran. It provides news and information regarding unemployment, poverty, unpaid wages. It also highlights challenges faced by weight carriers, child laborers, and other workers at risk.

Controlled and Pursued: Labor Activism in Contemporary Iran
The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) has released a report, Controlled and Persecuted: Labor Activism in Contemporary Iran, focusing on human rights issues impacting Iranian workers, particularly labor activists. Examining Iran’s Labor Code and violations of the country’s international obligations, this report reviews a wide array of topics, including non-payment of wages, lack of workplace safety, and the problems caused by the prevalence of fixed-term contracts. Furthermore, the report discusses how the Islamic Republic’s ideological outlook has impacted women’s participation in the labor force.

Alleviating Poverty in Iran
According to the World Bank Group, Iran’s GDP in 2017 was $439.5 billion while its population peaked at 80.6 million. On the poverty alleviation front, poverty in Iran fell from 13.1 percent to 8.1 percent between the years 2009 to 2013. Also, in the changing dynamic of its domestic politics and a new wave of secularism and liberalism brought on by a burgeoning young population in the country, addressing poverty in Iran is a very key objective for various stakeholder groups.

LGBTQ Rights

Social & Emotional Wellness Initiative
LGBTQIA+ individuals often face discrimination making it difficult to access quality treatment for mood disorders. Many people learn that not all mental health providers understand their experiences. These negative interactions with providers can mean our loved ones are less likely to seek help when they need it most. The following link provides a list of resources:SEWI.org

Safe Zone
Safe Zone trainings are one of the best places to start learning about all things LGBTQ+, but they are just that: the start. Safe Zone offers resources in creating LGBTQ+/Ally trainings and workshops.

Spectrum
Spectrum is a queer feminist organization which informs and advocates for Love, Fairnesss, and Equality. Its projects include Machoalnd, Avishan, Dojensgara, Iran’s Rainbow and Hamdam app. Spectrum is a member of ILGA World.

6Rang
6Rang (The Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network) was established following the first Iranian lesbian and transgender gathering held in 2010. Its network and contacts span across more than 200 LGBTI individuals, the majority of whom are based in Iran. 6Rang is a member of ILGA World). (English and Persian)

Persons with Disabilities Rights

The UN system continues to strengthen its efforts to recognize, promote, implement and monitor the rights of persons with disabilities from a human rights-based approach, in line with the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the broader human rights framework.
Special Rapporteur, Catalina Devandas Aguilar has the following mandate:

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a comprehensive document with specific provisions to “promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.” By their definitions, “persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”

Click here to see the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in full.

World Health Organization and the World Bank Group have jointly produced this World Report on Disability to provide the evidence for innovative policies and programmes that can improve the lives of people with disabilities, and facilitate implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which came into force in May 2008. This landmark international treaty reinforced [an] understanding of disability as a human rights and development priority. The World Report on Disability suggests steps for all stakeholders – including governments, civil society organizations and disabled people’s organizations – to create enabling environments, develop rehabilitation and support services, ensure adequate social protection, create inclusive policies and programmes, and enforce new and existing standards and legislation, to the benefit of people with disabilities and the wider community.

Women's Rights

Violence Against Women
Violence against women and girls is a global epidemic. The numbers are staggering: even the often-used statistic that one in three women and girls have experienced physical or sexual violence is a gross under-representation. Seventy per cent of human trafficking victims globally are women and girls. Early marriage continues to be a scourge on our human radar. When we consider women and girls facing multiple and intersecting violations, the numbers are even more disturbing. Women with disabilities, for example, are 10 times more likely to experience violence.

Mothers Around the World Are in Crisis. Here's How You Can Help
Of the 136 million people who will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2018, an estimated 34 million are women of reproductive age and 5 million are pregnant.
For more information, please click here.

Eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls
‘Spotlight Initiative’ can make violence against women a thing of the past, says UN deputy chief
Addressing a leading forum on development in Brussels, known as European Development Days, Ms. Mohammed said that the joint Spotlight Initiative was a key element for making Global Goal 5 on women’s empowerment, of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, a reality.

Spotlight Initiative Terms of Reference
The last two decades have yielded advances in recognizing the importance of the human rights and dignity of women and girls. The process has been driven by a series of international conferences organized by the United Nations, with the backing of governments and civil society from every global region. Key conferences include the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993), the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) (Cairo, 1994) and the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995). Likewise, the Millennium Declaration (2000) and the Millennium Development Goals advanced many of international agreements.
For more information, please click here.

Religious Minorities

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, dedicated to defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties.

Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) promotes the universal and equal application of this principle for all people, regardless of one’s nationality, sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion, language or any other status. Human rights are moral standards on which any just society is built. They supersede the interests of particular groups within society and the policies of states. Human rights are extended to everyone for the simple fact of being human; therefore, they must be vigorously protected and upheld by international law.

The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. The mandate holder has been invited to identify existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief and present recommendations on ways and means to overcome such obstacles.